Blossom Heart (E. Smith)

Chapter Two

Grisha keeps his word and does return later in the day. Mid-afternoon, Ionia guesses from the sun outside of the window. And he wants to check on her physical well-being. She knows enough to know what he is asking of her. She has been checked on for years. She knows how this works. So she allows it. He sits on the edge of the bed, close to her but not too close. Not close enough to make her uncomfortable. Well, not overly uncomfortable. His fingers are on her throat. Checking to see if there is a medical reason why she hasn't spoken a word since she woke up. But in all honesty, she has nothing to say. No answers to give his questions that will satisfy him. She has no questions that he can answer either. There is nothing either of them can say to make up for what has happened. The years that have passed. The damage that has been done. He moves his hands from her throat and sighs. As if realising that it is a choice she is making.

"I..." Grisha starts and then stops. Pondering what to say to her. Now they know. Now they both know who they are to one another. He seems to be struggling with it all. He moves his hands to her left arm, pulls it out straight and touches the faded, old and new needle marks on the inside of her elbow. They match the ones on the other side too. Years of injections and bloodletting. Torture. Etched into her skin as a reminder of everything that she went through. All the years she spent locked away and experimented on. Grisha brushes his fingers around her elbow and lets out a breath.

"Do these hurt?" He asks her, she turns her head slightly to look at him. She stares at him a moment, trying to decide if he actually feels bad that she has been hurt, if he feels guilt for giving her to the people who did these things to her, or if he feels nothing for it. She shakes her head in answer to his question and turns to look out the window at the blue sky beyond. She longs to feel the sun on her skin. To feel the warmth soaking into her. How long has it been since she has felt that. Since she has seen the sun in it's fully glory. She sighs wistfully. Grisha follows her eyes to the closed window and then stands, moving towards it. He unlatches the window and opens it up, letting the soft afternoon breeze flow through into the room. When he turns back to Ionia, her eyes are wide with joy almost, and he misreads her once again. It is not about the air. It is about the fact that the window is open. She had a window back home, it was small and locked, always locked, and sat in constant darkness. Shadow. Here is different. This window faces the sun. It opens. "You can sit" He assures her, setting the desk chair in front of the window. Ionia glances at the window and then at Grisha who nods softly, touching the back of the chair. She lets out a breath and pushes herself to her feet from the bed to take the seat in front of the open window, letting the fresh scent of nature wash over her as it is blown through. How long since she has felt this way. Felt the natural world bearing down on her. Grisha simply watches her for a moment. A sense of softness coming over her as she basks in the sunshine, eyes closed and face tilted back. In that moment, he sees a child. His child. He sighs as he reaches into his pocket to remove her necklace. It is not his to keep after all. He sets her necklace onto the dresser, onto the top of a vibrant looking book that he brought with him. He sighs and covers the necklace with his hand.

"I'm sorry, Ionia" He states sadly. "For everything" He looks back at her, hoping that she might have something to say to that, but she doesn't. She remains silent, staring out of the window. The apology doesn't make her feel better. It doesn't help her understand what is going on here. Why she is here. How she got here. It's just empty words. She feels empty. He hands her the book and the necklace, her eyes shifting to him and then the two items. She takes the necklace from him almost immediately upon seeing it. It is the one thing she has. The one thing that is hers. That she owns. She has nothing else. Nothing. She curls her fingers around the necklace. Clutching to it. Grisha then sets the book onto her lap. "I thought you might like something to read whilst you are resting" He offers and then moves back to the desk and his notes. He needs to finish making notes on her condition. He still needs to figure out why she is not talking and if there is a medical reason for it and in that case, if he can fix it. There is noise from the window. Voices. Laughing. Talking. Ionia leans up out of the chair to peer out of the window to see what it is. Who it is. Soldiers. That is clear in the way they are dressed. In the way that they move. She's on a barracks of some kind. She doesn't recognise the uniform, but it matches the colour scheme of the clothing she was given. Green and brown and beige. The clothing still sat on the dresser. She hasn't changed yet, mostly because she is so used to wearing the grey slip dress she is currently wearing. The idea of changing out of it means that something is actually happening here. Happening to her. Changing her clothes accepts that this is all real. It can't be real. This cannot be real. She's out of her depth if it is. Away from the safety of her room. Away from people she almost recognises. And whilst they have hurt her, it is known. And known is safe. The soldiers move about the courtyard below. Coming and going. She slumps back into her seat. Feeling rather nervous about where she is. Soldiers are dangerous. Trained to kill. She has no reason to be nervous. She's done nothing wrong. But the idea of her being smack bang in the middle of a military compound is a scary one. The door to the room opens and in steps another man, this one wearing the same sort of uniform as the men outside. A soldier then. Carrying a tray with a bowl. Fresh food. And it smells a lot better than the soup from the morning. Grisha looks at him and then leans up from the table. "This is Commander Keith Sadies" Grisha introduces. "He was with me when I found you" He adds. "This is his....home that you are staying in"

"Home is very generous" Sadies counters as he sets the tray on the dresser. "Barracks" He motions to the food he's brought and gives Ionia an encouraging smile. "You are welcome to stay here as long as you need" He assures her. "And eat as much as you wish" She lets out a breath and turns back to the window as she pulls her necklace around her neck, putting it back where it belongs, the floral charm settling against he chest. "Still silent?" Sadies asks Grisha who nods in answer, eyes on Ionia as she opens up the book he has given her. It's full of illustrations of flowers and animals. Her own name written in child's handwriting on the first page. It was her book. She touches the page because it is not just her name written there, but another too. A shared book. A shared childhood. Zeke. She whimpers a little thinking about him. A piece of her soul carved out and left far away from her. How else is she supposed to feel about loosing her twin? She has good memories of her childhood with him. Running around and laughing together. Laying side by side and telling one another the most outrageous stories their imagination could think up. And then it was all gone.